Improved clothes-pin



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY XV. SARGEANT, JR., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELFAND G. BRAYTON JOHNSON, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVED CLOTH ES-PIN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,458, dated December13, 1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. SARGEANT, Jr., of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Clothes-Pins; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description ot' the construction andoperation of the same, reference being had totheaccompanyingdrawings,for1n ing a part of this specification, inwhich- Figure lis a perspective view; Fig. 2, a longitudinal centralsection, and Fig. 3 a trans Verse section in the line .r .t of Fig. l.

Like parts are indicated by the same letters in all the figures, whichare intended to be full-sized.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing a clothes-pin withtwo rigid outside prongs, b Z), and a flexible tongue between them, sothat either side of said tongue and one ot' the prongs may be used atpleasure, and whenever the tongue becomes bent or inclined in onedirection by use on one side it may be rectified by use on the oppositeside, whereby the clothes-piu will never spread or lose its elasticity,and be much less liable to split than when constructed in the usualmanner, thus constituting a better, stronger, and more durable articlethan any known or used before for a similar purpose.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to de scribe its construction and operation.

I make my clothes-pin of hard wood or other suitable material, such asis commonly used for a similar purpose.

The main body A of the piu is a cylinder four inches (more or less) inlength and about one inch and one-fourth in diameter. This cylinder A ischambered out, as plainly shown in the drawings, by any suitable meansto within about three-fourths of an inch of its upper end, the lower oropen end being eut away to form the prongs b b, the shape of which isclearly shown in Fig. 1, so as to readily slip on over a clothes-lineand hold securely to it when attached. rllhe inner sides of the prongs bb, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. l, have longitudinal groovesopposite the 'tongue C, into which grooves the tongue will force or bendthe clothes and line, and thus confine them more securely together.

The tongue C, situated in the axis of the cylinder, as shown iu thedrawings, is about iivesixteenths of an inch iu diameter aud threeinches in length, extending down as low as the ends of the prongs b b.The end of the tongue has also a rounded wedge-shaped point, so as toreadily slip over a clothes-line, as represented in Fig. l. This tongueO may either be formed ofthe same piece of wood as the body A, beingleft by the hollow auger which forms the chamber, or it may be aseparate piece and inserted and fastened in any suitable manner in theclosed end of the cyl inder A.

The operation of my clothespin is shown in Fig. l, the dotted circles dand e representing a clothesline on either side of the tou gue. So longas the tongue remains unbent and central between the two prongs it isimmaterial which side of it touches the clothes or line, but if itshould get sprung or bent by use so as to be nearer to one prong thanthe other it should be so applied that the side nearest to a prong maytouch the line, which will cause the pin to nip the clothes so much thetighter and also tend to rectify the tongue.

My clothes-pin, by the aid of suitable machinery, can be constructed ascheaply as the ordinary kinds, while for strength and durability it is agreat improvement over them.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

Oonstructiug a clothespin with two rigid outside prongs, b b, and aflexible tongue, O, between them, substantially as set forth, and forthe purpose described.

HENRY W. SARGEANT, JR.

Witnesses N. AMEs, GEO. It. CLARKE.

